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Marina development should be rejected: Port Stephens Council

Thu 5 Jun 2014, 7:19 AM AEST

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Expansion plans for the Soldiers Point Marina will go before the Joint Regional Planning Panel next week.

Port Stephens Tourism

Soldiers Point residents have welcomed a Port Stephens Council decision to recommend the refusal of a controversial marina expansion, saying the proponents failed to provide vital environmental information.

The Soldiers Point Marina expansion is due to go before the Joint Regional Planning Panel next week.

In a report to the JRPP Council says the application has not provided a species impact statement, an economic impact assessment or a hazards assessment.

Colin Howard from the Soldiers Point Community Group says Council has also found the development has the potential to result in an adverse impact on the environment.

"This development application started way back in February 2012 when it was first listed and here we are two years later and quite a few of the things, I'll call them mandatory requirements that are necessary for a professional assessment have not been provided by the application," he said.

"So it's now up to the JRPP to decide whether or not they will support council's recommendation to refuse."

Mr Howard says the group has concerns about a lack of community consultation.

"This area of environmental protection is one of the most sensitive aspects of this particular development," he said.

"This part of the world is a very special place.

"It is home to a number of endangered species including the beach stone curlew.

"There is only a handful of those birds in NSW and they are an endangered species."